Various types of towing devices can be found in the prior art. A common towing device for disabled vehicles is a commercial tow truck which has a boom which supports a sling or cradle which may be attached to the disabled vehicle. Sling-type devices are widely used but present problems in attaching the sling or cradle to the vehicle. Normally the sling or cradle arrangement places either the front or the rear of the towed vehicle in an elevated position adjacent the rear of the tow truck. This position in close proximity to the tow truck can result in the towed vehicle becoming damaged as it is towed due to the swing or twisting of the vehicle relative to the tow truck during transit which results in the vehicles colliding.
As an improvement over sling or cradle towing arrangements, some tow trucks are provided with wheel lift apparatus which apparatus attaches to the front or rear wheels of the vehicle to be towed. Such apparatus generally have a platform which support either the front or rear wheels of the vehicle to be towed depending on the drive wheel arrangement of the towed vehicle. This type of arrangement has distinct advantages over the cradle or sling arrangement reducing the possibility of damage to the towed vehicle. However, a problem with apparatus of this type are that they often require substantial manual operations be done by the driver in securing the vehicle wheels to the platform. Further, these towing apparatus do not easily adjust to or accommodate different sizes of vehicles having different size tires.